Press Releases

ACLU-D.C. lawyers and advocates are among the nation's leading experts on civil liberties and constitutional freedoms. They are regularly sought out by leading broadcast, print and online media to lend an essential voice to the conversation about some of the most important issues facing the nation and the District. For all press inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

After ACLU-DC Flags First Amendment Problems With Student Online-Speech Rules, D.C. Public Schools Modifies Technology Policy

The ACLU-DC identified several constitutional deficiencies in its policy governing students' online speech.

ACLU-DC Files Friend-of-the-Court Briefs Challenging Federal Government’s Moving Felony Gun Charges to Federal Court

The briefs assert the U.S. Attorney for D.C. acted unlawfully in deciding last year to begin charging all felon-in-possession gun cases in federal court rather than D.C. Superior Court.

Federal Court Orders Immediate Changes for St. Elizabeths Patients Exposed to COVID-19

A federal court ordered the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health to isolate patients at St. Elizabeths Hospital who have been exposed to the coronavirus.

D.C. Halfway House Lawsuit Results in Successful Emergency Release of Prisoners

A lawyer for the Federal Bureau of Prisons told a federal judge today that approximately 85% of the 120 men who have been locked in crowded conditions in Hope Village will be sent to home confinement.

Federal Court Orders Immediate Improvements to Conditions Inside D.C. Jail During COVID-19 Crisis

The court found the D.C. Department of Corrections was aware of the risks to individuals incarcerated, but disregarded it.

D.C. Halfway House Lawsuit by Civil Rights Groups Prompts Urgent Action by Bureau of Prisons

According to the lawsuit, the crowded conditions at Hope Village presented a serious health risk to the returning citizens in the time of pandemic.

Public Defender Service Comment on First COVID Death at D.C. Jail

The D.C. Jail reported its first death to COVID-19 today.

Civil Rights Groups Sue Hope Village, Inc., Bureau of Prisons, and the District of Columbia for Endangering Prisoners at DC Halfway House During COVID-19 Pandemic

Unsanitary conditions and disregard of CDC guidelines put residents and staff at high risk of illness of COVID-19 infection.